MB major servicing would you loose trust if they missed something

[MSG2004]

My sister who lives north of Watford had her car serviced, a large MB. It was a B service. She does not trust people and this is why she still takes to a MB garage as in her judgement mail dealers/retail MB can be trusted. Last week she had the car returned to her home. She had sent out the one key only, it was the one with a failed battery as it would not open the windows but did open/lock the car as well as the boot. Long story short, she noted the windows would not open on the key so she took out the battery from the other key and windows did open. She rang the dealer having tried for hours to get through and was fobbed off that the battery was changed and tested by opening the boot/windows etc.
She disagrees and wonders what else was not done.

Yes, we can all forget/etc but the tick boxes are always diligently ticked. The time before the windscreen washer a couple of years ago was not topped up as she checked as that was part of another service and it was confirmed with MB

She found the comments hurtful and uses the key to open the car windows before she gets in on hotter days. It was the attitude of the person on the phone and the emails before that fobbing her off. My sis is salt of the earth person never done anything wrong in her life and very honest and would never claim for something that was not true.

I told her to complain to MB HQ, she feels nothing will happen.

IMO, it would knock your confidence making you think what else they have missed as it was a major service on the B service.

It's the principal IMO - what would you do remembering that the service department is so busy that they hardly answer the phone she said.

Personally I'd like them to send a video clip of the work they have done on the car. in this digital agee it should not be too difficult or at least a few pictures of parts changed, taken off, etc. I said to her the dealer on the whole may be good but it could be a technician having an off day. They also did not send her the second battery as I normally get that from a pack of two as I only just send out the one key,

Thanks.

 

[clk320x]

They also did not send her the second battery as I normally get that from a pack of two as I only just send out the one key,

2 batteries required per key

 

[kianok]

2 batteries required per key

Mine has one per key.

 

[MSG2004]

No, just the one battery per key but they do both keys at a B service and if you don't have the second key on you or your car is collected and delivered they will send the second battery with the paperwork/etc

 

[clk320x]

Mine has one per key.

My mistake. Sorry

 

[Deleted member 126969]

I don’t trust them to start with frankly. My supplying dealer was so full of shit and excuses about why they couldn’t do this or that. My current service dealer doesn’t really instil any sense of trust either.

They treat everyone like idiots too in my experience, and seem utterly oblivious to the existence of the internet, forums, and the fact that owners find it easy to share knowledge and experience. The whole “Sir doesn’t need to know” attitude writ large.

 

[markjay]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Two points to note...:

1. 'MB dealers' aren't one entity... they are different garages belonging to various chains (including MB UK). There are good dealers and there are bad dealers... I had poor service at one London dealership, so took my business to MB Brooklands, and after 3 services there I can't fault them (as it happens, both dealers are owned by MB UK).

2. There are good independent specialists, and there are bad ones... like with almost everything else in life. Incidentally, I (and many others) had very good service from forum-sponsors Wayne Gate in Harrow and PCS in Horndean.

But I do understand the frustration - there's an expectation that any MB dealer will provide exceptional service... sadly it isn't so.

 

[zipdip]

Well standards have gone down,as with other makes with the exception of Lexus,but that might be a exception to the rule.

 

[chrisk2010]

No, just the one battery per key but they do both keys at a B service and if you don't have the second key on you or your car is collected and delivered they will send the second battery with the paperwork/etc

I never knew that i have been missing out on spare batteries i'll take my spare next time.

My sister who lives north of Watford had her car serviced, a large MB. It was a B service. She does not trust people and this is why she still takes to a MB garage as in her judgement mail dealers/retail MB can be trusted. Last week she had the car returned to her home. She had sent out the one key only, it was the one with a failed battery as it would not open the windows but did open/lock the car as well as the boot. Long story short, she noted the windows would not open on the key so she took out the battery from the other key and windows did open. She rang the dealer having tried for hours to get through and was fobbed off that the battery was changed and tested by opening the boot/windows etc.
She disagrees and wonders what else was not done.

Yes, we can all forget/etc but the tick boxes are always diligently ticked. The time before the windscreen washer a couple of years ago was not topped up as she checked as that was part of another service and it was confirmed with MB

She found the comments hurtful and uses the key to open the car windows before she gets in on hotter days. It was the attitude of the person on the phone and the emails before that fobbing her off. My sis is salt of the earth person never done anything wrong in her life and very honest and would never claim for something that was not true.

I told her to complain to MB HQ, she feels nothing will happen.

IMO, it would knock your confidence making you think what else they have missed as it was a major service on the B service.

It's the principal IMO - what would you do remembering that the service department is so busy that they hardly answer the phone she said.

Personally I'd like them to send a video clip of the work they have done on the car. in this digital age it should not be too difficult or at least a few pictures of parts changed, taken off, etc. I said to her the dealer on the whole may be good but it could be a technician having an off day. They also did not send her the second battery as I normally get that from a pack of two as I only just send out the one key,

Thanks.

I'd put in a complaint even if it doesn't get anywhere as she's paid for the service and it seems to really bother her. My better half is the same she won't make the call to repair the burner on the cooker because she thinks it's a small thing but at the end of the day we are paying for the cover, if anything i want it to break more so i can feel like i get my money back.

In fear of starting another war on customer service the only bad experience i had was on my first car when i asked an indy to carry out a full service no matter what the cost as i didn't have the time to do it myself back then and wanted the car tip top from the beginning.

They had the car for a day and a half and when it came back i found they hadn't change six of the spark plugs (twin spark), fuel filter, transmission service and a couple of other things which was a bit annoying as i only got half of what i asked for and was being charged for then i wondered what else they hadn't done, after negotiating a reduced bill i serviced the car myself ever since (it wanted for nothing) and it took years to trust anyone else again but credit to Mercedes Waterhouse they have been amazing and very patient with me apart from the battery i have just found out missed out on .

 

[markjay]

As for the actual issue... on most MB cars, the remote doors locking/unlocking is a totally separate function to the windows opening/closing (aka Summer Opening / Convenience Closing).

The doors unlocking is done via RF, and has a good range. The windows opening is done via a small IR transmitter located at the tip of the fob, and it needs to be pointed at the IR receiver on the door handle at very close proximity (around 1" or less).

Typically, what goes wrong is the photoelectric receiver in the door handle, but obviously what you are saying is that the windows opening started working as soon as you replaced the battery in the fob.

BTW, what brand was the battery that you removed from the fob (the one that MB was supposed to have replaced)? And do you have a multimeter to test the voltage?

 

[Deleted member 149005]

My sister who lives north of Watford had her car serviced, a large MB. It was a B service. She does not trust people and this is why she still takes to a MB garage as in her judgement mail dealers/retail MB can be trusted. Last week she had the car returned to her home. She had sent out the one key only, it was the one with a failed battery as it would not open the windows but did open/lock the car as well as the boot. Long story short, she noted the windows would not open on the key so she took out the battery from the other key and windows did open. She rang the dealer having tried for hours to get through and was fobbed off that the battery was changed and tested by opening the boot/windows etc.

Your sister has 2 key fobs.
1 had an iffy battery and the window function didnt work
The other had a good battery and the window function did work

Which key was given to the dealer?

Did your sister change the fob battery before or after the service?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I took the first Mercedes I ever owned - a four year old E270 - to the main dealer for a service and what happened has stuck with me since...

The day after the service the “top up windscreen wash came on” which was meant to have been done, in fact there was a tick next to its name on the invoice so I phoned up the dealer expecting a “sorry for this, if you call in we’ll give you a bottle of screenwash or, if you can wait, we’ll top it up ourselves for you” but I was met with an accusation that I’d used a big chunk of it IN 24 HOURS IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER!

I then escalated it to a manager - yes, really - who had the same attitude! And to top it off, the day after the screenwash light came on, the “top up oil” light came on too!

After much back and forth with the manager, I ended up dealing with the DP who gave me a full refund and asked to bring it back in so they could “have another look”, needless to say I didn’t and I haven’t been back since then other than an SBC visit where they charged me to diagnose a fault I told them about..!

Luckily, in my area, I’ve had great experience with Land Rover & Audi but the best by a long chalk has been Mitsubishi & Jaguar (when I took my XFR in for a service they noticed the wheel centre caps had blown so they replaced the FOC of their own volition!)

 

[Mr. B]

Previous thread might help discussion

Recent Merc Service experience | General Discussion

I haven’t posted for a while but I thought I would share my recent experience at the hands of my local Merc dealership. My A45 was due for a B service during lockdown so I got it rescheduled to yesterday. I requested that they investigate the following warranty covered issues. a) Rubber seal...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[MSG2004]

Thank you all. It looks like many others have experience the same. The dealer is run by MB and not a franchise. I texted sis with this link she had a look and thanked me but does not have it in her to follow through. She is certain of what she said and will just buy a couple of batteries for a few pounds and change themselves as it was definitely not done and she is 100% that they sent out the key with the battery in it that did not open the windows but will open everything when the battery is swapped from the key she kept back and tried this a few times to ensure the key is not faulty.
Thank you all.

 

[MSG2004]

To be clear, both keys work and work on the battery in the key that sis kept back, when changed to the key that was sent to the dealer that works too. Changed several times to ensure contacts are good but same result - they missed/forgot it was the way they dealt with her.
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 149005]

essentaully the dealer didn't replace the battery in the fob they were given?

Poor service but worse happens. Write it off as bad luck and find another dealer next time

 

[markjay]

When MB Brooklands carried-out a B-Service on my car, they replaced the battery in the fob, and gave me the other battery (they come in twin-packs) for the spare fob to replace myself

 

[CrazyCow]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Two points to note...:

1. 'MB dealers' aren't one entity... they are different garages belonging to various chains (including MB UK). There are good dealers and there are bad dealers... I had poor service at one London dealership, so took my business to MB Brooklands, and after 3 services there I can't fault them (as it happens, both dealers are owned by MB UK).

2. There are good independent specialists, and there are bad ones... like with almost everything else in life. Incidentally, I (and many others) had very good service from forum-sponsors Wayne Gate in Harrow and PCS in Horndean.

But I do understand the frustration - there's an expectation that any MB dealer will provide exceptional service... sadly it isn't so.

The Mercedes-Benz Retail Group (all sites within and some around M25) is a wholly owned subsidy of Mercedes-Benz AG. MB UK do not own any dealerships.

 

[Will]

The Mercedes-Benz Retail Group (all sites within and some around M25) is a wholly owned subsidy of Mercedes-Benz AG. MB UK do not own any dealerships.

That is quite correct, although I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make?

Is it the term ‘UK’ that was used by Markjay? As MB Retail Group use this themselves in their company name

Owned by MB AG, but their trading name includes the term ‘UK’.

MERCEDES-BENZ RETAIL GROUP UK LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

MERCEDES-BENZ RETAIL GROUP UK LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

beta.companieshouse.gov.uk

I think what MJ was trying to say, is the customer sees the dealership as Mercedes-Benz Brooklands, or Mercedes-Benz Chelsea etc but they are all under the control of Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK Limited, who are owned by MB AG

The point being - not all MB Dealerships/Retailers/Aftersales in the UK are run by the same group

 

[markjay]

I was trying to point say that I had poor service and great service from two dealerships owned by the same group - to highlight that what matters is the individual garage, not the group, and not even the fact that they are franchised. There are good ones and bad ones..... assume nothing and expect nothing, go by recommendation and experience.

That said, here in London we are spoilt for choice. But if you live in an area that has only one MB dealer, and you want to take advantage of the savings through the MB Service Care Plan, then it can be a tough dilemma.